Arm yourself with a good plan (or two) and your buying trip will be a success. I have a 10″-wide piece of 8/4 purpleheart sitting on my lumber rack. I bought it eight years ago when I [...]
This traditional finish from Denmark is simple, safe and tactile. When I tell fellow woodworkers and customers that I use soap as a finish on some of my tables and chairs, they think I’m joking. [...]
I often need to find the center of a board for resawing (and other purposes). A quick way to do this is to use a cheap doweling jig and brad-point drill bit to mark the center, then set your [...]
When turning, I like to have all my supplies close at hand, ready for use. I use an index card box to store and organize cut pieces of sandpaper. It has a lid and dividers, so everything is [...]
One afternoon my wife called out to my shop with an urgent request. She needed me to make a round plywood cake plate for a charity auction. I assured her it would be no problem. I was in the [...]
A new twist on an old method of applying shellac. You’ve spent weeks, or months producing that perfect table from a very special wood, and now it’s time to apply the finish. What do you reach [...]
I recently made a couple of recipe boxes with finger joints. I didn’t have enough regular clamps to glue both boxes at once, so I decided to use band clamps. During my dry run, I discovered that [...]
Transform a plain top into a stylish surface Here’s one technique every budding furnituremaker should know: how to make a framed top. A mitered frame adds a polished, professional look to a [...]
I’m making and installing approx. 5000-bd.ft. of hard maple trim. Keeping track of what I’ve already sanded is difficult, so before sanding, I rub artists non-oil pastel chalks (also available at [...]
We’ve all been there: You reach for your saw in the middle of a project, and before you start the cut, you drag your finger along the teeth and say to yourself, “Meh…they’re sharp enough.” [...]
Now that arthritis has a grip on me, I have trouble getting a good grip on clamp handles. My solution is easy and costs nothing. I carve grooves lengthwise on the handles using a medium-sized [...]
Floor Sweep Dust Port My router table is probably the most-used tool in my shop. I have dust collector ports on the fence, but when I rout with a bearing-guided bit, it still makes a huge mess. [...]
